Crying
by l0stinl0ve
Summary: There is a kind of crying I hope you have not experienced, and it's not just crying about something terrible that has happened...a crying that can only be diluted by someone holding you as your shoulders shake and your tears run down your face. EWE.


**Author's Note:** I've read stories like this where the plot is jumps from year to year. Based off the bunny I had in my head, I needed to time jump to truly get to where I wanted so I apologize if you don't like it. A lot happens in between and I try to give you some information so that it makes sense. I'm sorry if it doesn't, but I do hope you enjoy this anyway. I needed a break from writing part two of _It's a Wonderful Life_ and this seemed like an easy one-shot I could hammer out while I let where I left off in the other story stew in the back of my mind.

Anyways, as always, please enjoy reading it and I'll love the reviews you send.

"_There is a kind of crying I hope you have not experienced, and it's not just crying about something terrible that has happened, not just to you but to everyone you know and to everyone you don't know and even the people you don't want to know, a crying that cannot be diluted by a brave deed or a kind word, but only by someone holding you as your shoulders shake and your tears run down your face."_ – Lemony Snicket

* * *

_May 2__nd__, 1998_

She watches him walk out of the great hall. His parents' eyes are clouded with unshed tears and he looks at them and walks away. She doesn't know why she does it, but she follows him. She follows him through the rubble and to the Black Lake. He stops under a tree and stares into the water. As she approaches him, she sees tears rolling down his cheeks.

He hears the sound of footfalls coming closer. When there's a crunch of broken branches he turns and sees her. At first he wants to sneer at her for finding him in such a compromising position. But he just can't bring himself to. Not after everything. Instead he turns back to the water and continues to cry.

She is shocked when he looks at her and just turns away. She knows she should leave him be – that this is a personal moment; but she can't bring herself to move away. Instead she stands next to him and stares into the water as well. Slowly, tears start to fall down her cheeks.

In what seems like ages, but has really only been ten minutes, the first words are spoken. Draco turns to her and uses his thumb to wipe away at some of her tears, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not doing something. I'm sorry for watching. I'm sorry for all the terrible things –"

He abruptly stops when she wraps her arms around him and cries in earnest. He stiffens at first but then he puts his arms around her and just cries as well.

They are still holding each other, almost an hour later, when the shaking ceases and the sobs quiet down.

* * *

_May 2__nd__, 1999_

This time it's her staring at the lake. She's pulling grass from the ground and throwing it around her; the wind just blows it back onto her and now she has it all over her hair. He chuckles at the mess in her hair, on her robes, just her.

"This isn't funny Draco." She scolds him while continuing her attack on the ground.

"Well, Hermione, the ground didn't do anything to you so it has retaliated." He gestures to the blades of grass all over her. She looks at herself and a smile tugs at her lips. She starts to brush off the blades of grass off her skirt when he sits down next to her while he pulls the blades out of her hair.

She lays her head onto his lap and they just stare at the lake for several minutes. "They hate me, you know." The sob is lodged in her throat. She's holding back as much as she can. He can feel the tremors in her chest.

He's trying not to cry himself. The thought of bringing her pain no longer makes him as giddy as it once did; now all it does it hurt. He really doesn't want to talk about this. They've been avoiding the subject for weeks, but he just can't stand her tears. "I'm sorry. We don't have to do this. I can't see you like this."

He runs his fingers through her hair to keep his tears in check. The anticipation to her response is slowly eating at his heart. A tear falls from his face onto her. She rolls so that she's now looking up into his eyes. She cups his face with her hand and brushes the tear away with the pad of her thumb.

"Draco, I don't care. If your parents can accept this then the Weasley's should too."

This time, instead of staring at the lake, they just stare into each other's eyes.

* * *

_May 2__nd__, 2000_

"They didn't hate me when I reversed the spell. They were happy to be together again. Granted, they don't want me to do magic around them for a while, but still. I have them back Draco!" Hermione is jumping up and down in front of their tree with excitement from finally finding her parents.

He can't help but smile up at her. She can't even sit still. They've been at the tree for a solid thirty minutes and she has yet to sit down. He just nods his head, responds appropriately and asks few questions when she mentions something he doesn't understand. He's just happy to see her again, it's been two months since she left for Australia, and now that she's home he doesn't think he'll ever stop smiling.

"Oh Draco, I'm such a terrible girlfriend!" She stops suddenly and looks down at him. "How have you been? I'm so sorry!"

He chuckles at her. _Of course it'd take her this long to realize._ But he doesn't care. "Well, last week Potter took me, Weasley, and Zabini to Muggle London." He looks at her gob smacked face. That's why he didn't write to her about it. He wanted to see her face when he finally told her.

"_You_ went to _Muggle_ London _WITH_ my friends?" She can't help but not believe him. If anyone said that _the_ Draco Malfoy would be spending time with Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley in Muggle London just a year ago, they'd be immediately shipped to St. Mungo's. "I don't believe you." She finally sits down next to him and looks at his face for any sign of deceit. When she finds none her eyes bulge and her jaw drops, "You're totally serious. Oh my God!" She jumps up and is almost as excited as she was earlier.

"We met a homeless man. Potter and Weasley told us to walk by but Zabini and I have never met one before so we stopped and talked to him. He's a war veteran. Just like us. He came back from home and his family was gone. We took him to a pub and just listened to his story. We didn't want to leave him there, you know? We weren't sure what to do." She sits back down next to him and her eyes are wide for a different reason this time. She can't help but stare at him in awe. "When he got up to go to the loo, Zabini and I asked Potter about homeless people. Since it was our first encounter we weren't sure what to believe. Potter said that some are just crazy and others take advantage but this guy, his name was Mark. He seemed genuine. All four of us decided to try and help him. We don't know how, but put him up in a motel near the Leaky Cauldron. We've been visiting him each week until we can figure out what to do."

Hermione gives him a bone-crushing hug. There are a few tears strolling down her cheeks and she doesn't know why. "Hey, darling, don't cry." Draco rubs circles at the base of her back. He's happy to hug her, but as always, he doesn't like to see her cry.

"I don't know if I'm happy or sad. I'm sad that this man has to go through with life like that. And I'm happy that you, Blaise, Harry and Ron are trying to help someone who hasn't gotten the help he's needed yet."

She loosens her hold on him, but continues to let the tears fall. He rubs circles on her back until his thumb gets tired and then he just lets his hand rest there.

* * *

_May 2__nd__, 2001_

They are walking the perimeter of the lake; holding hands. There is a glimmer from the ring on Hermione's left hand. The moon is shining now. This is the longest they've stayed out here – even longer than their time. Hermione's squeezes Draco's hand every so often to remind him that she's here for him. Draco is silently crying. He has been since they got to Hogwarts.

They avoided the Remembrance Ball and headed to the lake. Neither has said a word; just walked along the lake. At first it was Hermione crying, and it was just as bad as the first time he held her when she cried. Once she's cried out, she feels selfish. Draco has more of a right to tears than she does. She resolves herself to stop crying and to just console Draco for as long as he needs.

Once they reach their tree Draco stops their stroll. He sits against it and he gestures for Hermione to sit between his legs and lean into him. Once she's settled herself and grabs both his hands to hold her around her rounded belly, he speaks, "I know that most people are happy that he's gone and I know that he wasn't always the best person, and I haven't seen him in months; but I can't help but miss him." His tears are no longer silent. He rests his cheek on top of Hermione's head and starts to openly sob.

"He's your father Draco. And with him being in Azkaban, our relationship, and the visits he gets from me and your mother, he's not that same person. Don't let what others say about him diminish what he's become." She tries to soothe him by rubbing his arms but she knows that he needs to let out this emotion.

"He told m-me he loved me when I s-saw him last." It's almost hard to understand what he's saying. The sobs and Hermione's hair muffling what he's saying. "He said th-that even though he's to blame for my tr-troubled past that I've come out a fine young man a-and that he's proud. I know that I should h-hate him, that I should say that I don't n-need him to tell me he's pr-proud of me, but I can't help but l-love him. H-he was my father and H-he told me I'm going to be a fine d-dad."

He tries to speak more but it's just cries now. Hermione just continues to rub his arms as his hands rest on her stomach. When they feel a kick, they both cry in earnest now – for the lost father; and for the father that Draco will soon be.

* * *

_May 2__nd__, 2002_

Hermione is holding their son in her arms walking towards Draco who is already sitting under their tree. The sun is barely setting and she can't help but feel lucky for her little family. She hands Scorpius to his father and settles herself onto the picnic blanket.

"I'm glad that we brought him. I want him to love this spot as much as I do." Draco brushes his blonde curls away from his gray eyes and smiles down onto his sleeping son. He feels just as lucky as Hermione.

"Yes, yes, you're glad that we brought him, but I've been the one whose held him, fed him, and changed his nappies all day. I'm off duty now." She sticks her tongue out at him and lays down resting her head on his shins.

"I'm lucky to have an amazing wife and Scorpius is lucky to have an amazing mum."

She looks up at him like all the times before and her eyes water. "We're lucky. After everything, we have each other and the support of those we love." She looks back at the lake and plays with the fringe of the blanket.

"Pansy's parents will come around. They don't think she loves him. But she has to love him if she's going to give up living a life of luxury. Her parents just have to see that."

A small tear falls onto the blanket. "I know, but I don't think Ron can take how unhappy she is."

Draco bends over to kiss her on the top of her head and chuckles softly. "It's funny. He asked me if this was how I felt when the Weasley's shut you out of their life for those few months."

She quickly turns back to look at him, astounded, "What did you say?"

"Oh, I told him the truth. I told him it hurt more than when my father died. To watch someone you love in pain hurts more than anything else. It hurts to be selfish and it hurts to be selfless. Either way you're fucked."

"Language, Draco! We have a son now!" Another silent tear falls.

Draco rubs the tear away. "Sorry, love. But yes, I told him that we loved each other so much that we just stuck with it and proved to everyone else that our love is what mattered. I told him that he might as well as be selfish because then he'd be happy eventually."

"Of course you'd tell him to be a selfish git like you. Pansy is so distraught; I told her that everyone comes around eventually. I hope her family does, and soon. She really wants her father to walk her down the aisle."

"If anything, they'll come around when it's time to announce their first grandchild. My parents came around right away at the thought of how smart our children were going to be. And little Scorpius here will be the perfect little mini-me."

Hermione shot up instantly and glared at her husband. She started to wag her index finger in his face and stabbed him in the chest, "now see here, Mr. Malfoy, Scorpius may look like you but I refuse to let him be anything like you were in school. He will not be a spoiled," poke in the chest, "pompous," another poke in the chest, "child if I have anything to do with it." Lastly scrunching her hand into a fist and lightly punching him in the arm.

"I won't let him be like me either. Don't worry." Hermione smiles at him and cries softly. She lays her head against his shoulder and looks down at her son with him. Draco wraps his arm around her and bastes in the happiness that is his family. "Don't worry Hermione. Ron and Pansy will have this. They just have to fight for it like we did." And Hermione agreed with a last tear falling onto her son.

* * *

_May 2nd, 2003_

Just like the first time, they're standing under the tree at the lake. Hermione is crying into Draco's shoulders and he's just holding her tight, putting all his love into the hug. Scorpius is resting against the tree and Draco shakes his head when he tries to grab his mother's attention.

Just when Hermione's tears start to settle down, Scorpius pipes up, "Nana?" Hermione collapses and Draco bends onto his knees to hold her close. Scorpius hugs his mother from the other side and whispers "sowwie."

Draco pats his son on the back when Hermione turns to hold her son from the front. She kisses his forehead and pulls him close. "Where's Nana?"

Hermione tries to hold back, but she can't help it. She pulls him in close and cries into his hair. Scorpius starts to tear because that's what his mother is doing.

Draco, unable to bear it any longer, whispers into his ear. "Son, Nana is with your Gramps and your Grandfather."

Scorpius squeaks and Hermione cries harder. "In heaven?"

Hermione holds her tears long enough to answer, "Yes, in heaven."

And just like that, the little family cries – Hermione by sobbing outright, Scorpius with quiet tears, and Draco trying to be the rock with misty eyes

* * *

_May 2nd, 2004_

Scorpius runs ahead of his parents to the little picnic area set up under their tree. Hermione waddles while Draco holds her, chuckling the whole way.

"Daddy, mummy doesn't like it when you laugh at her! And I don't think my sister does either!"

When his parents make it to the picnic blanket, Scorpius jumps up to assist his mother to situate herself against the tree. Draco pulls a sandwich for his son and wife out of the basket. He tries to sit in the shade next to Hermione but Scorpius beats him to the spot. "Scorpius, your sister doesn't know I'm making fun of your mom yet. She's still in her tummy!"

Scorpius, horrified, guffaws at his father. "Mummy! Tell Daddy he's crazy!" He is pointing at his father as if he's gone mental. Draco looks sheepishly away from his son to his wife and winks.

"Draco, you're crazy!" She chuckles at herself for appeasing her son. And opens a juice pouch and hands it to Scorpius and starts to eat her own sandwich.

As the family sits to their early supper, the sun slowly sets casting a nice glow against the lake. Draco lays his head onto Hermione's lap and draws circles on her belly. Hermione sighs contentedly, looking into her husband's eyes. Scorpius plays on his toy broom and circles the blanket gagging at the googely-eyes his parents are making at each other.

"Mummy, Daddy, when is Auntie Luna's baby play with me and James and baby Albus?" Scorpius, bored with flying in circles, jumps off his broom and jumps on his dad's stomach.

"Oomph!" Draco pushes his son off his stomach and sits up from his position on his wife. The loving look they were just sharing changes to concern. Hermione is trying to hold back tears from the news that they were going to try and gently break to their soon to be three year old son.

Hermione, in attempt to not cry, answers first, "Scorp, Auntie Luna and Uncle Blaise aren't going to have a baby anymore."

Scorpius, ever the toddler, looks from his father to his mother and back, "why?"

Hermione, unable to keep her tears at bay, let loose. Draco upset with this turn of events wraps his arms around Hermione and lets her cry into his shoulder. He pulls Scorpius into his lap and whispers into his ear, "They lost the baby. Auntie Luna was in an accident and they couldn't save the baby. They're going to be sad for a while and we're going to be sad for them, ok?" Draco pulls away from his son, and Scorpius is silently crying. He wraps his arms around his mother's large belly and quietly thanks the heavens, Merlin, Morgana, and his grandparents who are not here, that his little sister makes it to term.

Hermione, hearing her son's prayers, cries even harder. Draco pulls his family even closer, secretly giving the same thanks.

* * *

_May 2__nd__, 2005_

The family is sharing their annual picnic with their close friends. Its early afternoon and the sun are high in the sky. There is little shade but no one seems to care. The children are excited to play with each other and the parents are happy to share such a happy afternoon.

Hermione stands at the edge of the blanket looking at her children while Luna, with a small baby bump lays on the grass looking at the heavily pregnant Pansy. Draco pulls Hermione into his lap while he laughs at a joke that Harry shared. Ginny is yelling at the children to be careful and Blaise and Ron chase them around the tree. Everyone is laughing and happy, Hermione can't help but think that life has finally found the end of _that_ kind of crying. She sighs and Draco looks to her to make sure nothing is wrong.

All of a sudden, a screech is heard and then the crying of a little girl. Blaise picks up his goddaughter, Cassiopeia, and carries her over to her parents. The little boys she was chasing after follow giggling at the misfortune of the only female in their company. Hermione quickly hugs her daughter and while Ginny scolds James and Albus, Hermione turns to glare at her son.

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, don't you dare laugh at your sister. You're supposed to be Cassie's big brother and take care of her. Is laughing at her taking care of her, hmm?" Hermione can't help but reprimand her son for the misfortune of her baby.

He looks sheepishly towards the ground and plays with the dirt using his foot. "No, mum. I'm sorry. It's just she's always crying and maybe if we laugh at her, she will learn to stop crying."

Draco, appalled at the logic his son is trying to use, quickly jumps in, "You know Scorp, not all crying is bad. There's this kind of crying – from serious sadness – that will not go away until you've cried it all out. When the tears fall, it's your body getting rid of the sadness you feel over something." Hermione gives him a knowing look and kisses her daughter's knee, getting her to stop. "There are a lot of times where the only thing that will help is if you cry. Not apologies, not kisses, not anything else but tears and lots of them being cried onto the shoulder of someone you love. I really hope that the only things you and your sister ever have to cry about are scraped knees and if it's ever over something worse, that the two of you will always be there for each other."


End file.
